The history of the Turkic language

As history of the Azerbaijani language as a whole is a part of the history of Turkic history it is necessary to pay attention to history of Turkic language to get complete information about its history.

According to researches of recent times information about Turks and Turk kins can be found in sources of III-İİ millennium. But according to some archaeological and paleontological sources Turks had already came on historical arena IX-VIII BC. This ethnos, which came to history with kin, tribe, family names and having same root, protecting language, religion and culture    naturally had made Turk name lively from very old times. The exact fact is this ethnos bearing Turk name had set Goyturk khaganate in the territory of modern Mongolia during V-VIII centuries. Goyturk khaganate of Central Mongolia was a great khaganate stretching till Black Sea and uniting Central Asia from west.

One of the historical facts on Turks is that they were known more with name of the people executing of governing functions and making them more closely. For example, by capturing the power by Kimmer/Kemer/Qamar tribe Kimmer state became to known as Iskit-Sarmat state due to driving off Kimmers by Iskits towards Black Sea basin. The dynasty that founded Hun state gave its name to nation and to state as well, too. Uighurs that defeated Goyturks went the same way and instead of Turk name they gave own name. Just because of that Turk statehood openly was differed from Europe, China, and Iran statehood. Different dynasties got different names in Hun period, in Chinese sources as So, Se, in Assur sources as Ashguzay, in Greek chronicles as Iskit, in Persians as Saka had caused a situation when each of these nations derived as a new state. 

It is noted in recent studies about Turk history that Turk name is very old. In Acadian sources of 2000 BC it was told about Turukis lived around the Urmia lake. They fought with Acadians and lived in the area of Aratta. It is told about the Turks, whose names marked as Turukete in Greek sources, lived in Caucasus in 1 century of BC. It is noted that they differed from Persians and Iberian- Caucasian peoples with appearance and living mode, too. 

In the ethnic description in the Torah showing names of  peoples of that time (it covers the period from VIII BC till birth of Jesus) peoples lived in Russian steps at medieval ages and called Dashti-Kipchaq are named as Tokamar and Tokaram. Top strata of Khazar Turks adopted Judaism, remained loyal to Torah and used Turk name as Tokaram, and called self as Tokaramogullari. In X century Khazar khagan Josef while replying to Jew Hasdai ibn Safrut told that his nation derived from son of Yasef Tokaram

In Georgian and Armenian sources of III BC and I-IV centuries of AD along with Iber- Caucasus and Indo-European other small nations lived in Caucasus a wide place was given to information about haylanturks, hunturks, separately varsaqs, bulgars, bayandirs, arsaks etc from Turkic kins.   

If history of Turkic languages having 4000 years, they will be divided according to latest researches as: 

1)  Altai or prototurk time

2)  Mother or time of ancient Turkic

3)  Time of middle Turkic

4)  Time of new Turkic dialects and languages

Period was lasted from 9000 BC till V century of AD.  This period mainly is divided into tow periods: pre-Hunic period and Hunic. Though there is no written monument on proturk, the only sample is names of Iskit (Hun) kings (Tumen, Qyunchen, Icjise, Uvey, Khuluqu etc). Moreover these are languages that may be probably related to proturk languages: Etrusk, Iskit (or Hun), Sumeric, Bulgaric etc 

Covers VI-X centuries of AD. Period of Old Turkic is divided into two branches:

a)  Period that covers language of Orkhan-Yenisey monuments and Goyturk period that covers V-VIII centuries.

b)  Period of Uighur language that covers VIII-X centuries             

This is the period that learnt most in Turkic history and has richest language specimens. As there are no outside elements in language, this period can be called as “Pure Turkic”

Covers XI-XVI centuries. The most important event of middle Turkic language period was adoption of Islam by Turks and that is why many words from Arabic and Persian included in Turkic language. Stages that included in the Middle Turkic language period are:

a) Qarakahnly stage

b) Khorazmshah stage

j) Chaghatay stage

ch) Stage of Old Anadolu Turkic

d) Oghuz Turkic used in Iran 

e) Kipchaq language that was a written language during Kyzyl Orda, Egypt and Syria etc

The biggest event of the period of the Middle Turkic language was a work of M.Kasghari “Divani lughat-i-turk”. Being a fundamental contribution in Turkic philology studies “Divani lughat-i- turk” still keeps its influence. According to recent information, after completing the work an author finally accomplished it during 1073-1074 after making 4 times corrections and according to some information it was submitted in 1077 to Arabian caliph Mohtadil. Probability M.Kashghai had a work on grammar of the Turkic (“Javahirun-nahv fi lughat-i-turk”), but unfortunately it did not reach our time. Work Divani lughat-i-turk was written to teach Turkic language to Arabs. M.Kashgari had given well enough place to proverbs, quadruples etc to better explain Turkic phrases. Including of names of toponymy (names of places) names of then Turkic kins and numbers and being in Turkic language is valuable feature of the work. It can be said that there is perfect and completed information in work Divani lughat-i-turk about Turkic langauges of XI century. Let us note that M.Kasghari had given for the first time a classification of Turkic languages. He geographically and partial phono-morphologically had divided Turkic languages in eastern and western dialects. Eastern Turkic dialects include chigil, yaghma, tokhs and uighurs and western dialects oghuz, kipchaq, bulgar and suvars. According to author, the Turkish dialects can be classified for being pure and mixed. For example, yaghma, kyrkyz, kipchaq, oghuz etc are pure Turkic languages. And mixed Turkic languages are those with influence of Persian language. Soghdi (soghdak), kanjak, argu are from such mixed dialects.  

Covers a period since XVI century till our days. This period is a time when Turkic languages completely get differentiated and got features of specific literary language as independent languages. At the same time melting of some tribal unions inside of other language unions, getting mixed etc are most important language events of that time. So kipchaq tribes in Arab countries (mainly Mamuluk turks) got mixed with oghuzs, part of oghuzs with karluq-kipchaq and kirpchaq tribes, and with karluq oghuzs, kipchaqs with karluqgs in turn

Oghuz tribes had participated in formation of some ancient and modern language based on ancient Seljuk, ancient Turkmen and ancient bulgar tribes: Languages of ancient Azerbaijan, ancient ottoman, ancient Turkmen, Azerbaijan, Turk, Turkmen and Gagauz.